A bill some advocates say is historic in nature was endorsed in the House on Tuesday, expanding the geographical reach of the Central Utah Completion Act to encompass the Great Salt Lake drainage.
By doing so, the Great Salt Lake Stewardship Act — which has the support of Utah’s full delegation — would tap unused money already set aside for Utah and broaden its reach to support the efforts of the state of Utah, local communities and water districts north of Salt Lake County in conserving water use and replenishing the lake.
It would do this by allowing that unexpended budget authority to be available under the Central Utah act to be used for water conservation efforts, instead of just sitting in a bank account of sorts.
The measure was accompanied by the Geothermal Energy Opportunity Act, which seeks to streamline the permitting process for this type of green energy. Both bills were by Rep. John Curtis, R-Utah, and passed with bipartisan support.
“I am thrilled to have unanimous support from my colleagues for this common-sense legislation,” Curtis said. “Both of these bills benefit Utahns, who have already invested tremendous effort to innovate and address challenges.”